Lotus Blossom Tank by Sharon Shoji. I substituted Plymouth Royal Bamboo and ended up using 8 skeins on size 4 needles. I did one extra pattern repeat and made the armhole slightly smaller (knit about 7 inches up the back instead of 7.5). I washed it to block and didn't pin it out. This yarn felt like cardboard when wet and took three days to dry. I was a little worried that the texture would change, but once it dried, it felt like it did before.
This was not the most fun thing to knit- trying to knit the plymouth at a tight gauge was a little hard on the fingers. I initially didn't have enough yarn, and bought three extra balls and had to start over on smaller needles after 2 reps of the lace pattern on size 5 needles. I didn't have much left over after 8 balls were knit up- I was a little nervous when I was knitting the edgings, but it was all fine. I also had anxiety that the variegation in the yarn would look bad with the lace pattern and the whole thing would look too busy and weird.
Despite all of my false starts, anxiety, and discomfort, I'm pretty happy with the finished result. It's a very wearable article of clothing- I love the neckline and the a-line tank shape. The variegation doesn't bother me, and I only wish that it was hot today so I wouldn't have to wear a sweater over it!
Well it looks beautiful. The vareigated yarn works perfectly.
Posted by: Lauren | June 26, 2007 at 12:11 PM
Looks great!
Posted by: Jen in SF | June 26, 2007 at 12:58 PM
It's very pretty. Good to hear that you're happy with how a challenging project turned out--it makes it worth it, don't you think? (Well, I hope it makes it worth it!)
Posted by: Janice | June 26, 2007 at 01:58 PM
Very, very nice. Come down to San Carlos. It's 72 and sunny only 25 miles away.
Posted by: Jocelyn | June 26, 2007 at 02:04 PM
Its beautiful!!!!!
Posted by: Adrienne | June 26, 2007 at 02:16 PM
Super super cute! I didn't read all of the knitting blahblah so I am going to assume it's easy to make, and you'll make one for me too??
(Or, can I borrow yours sometime?)
Posted by: Emily | June 26, 2007 at 04:02 PM
Very nice! It looks beautiful on you Jenny!
Posted by: Marisol | June 26, 2007 at 04:18 PM
It looks lovely on you!
Posted by: Abigail | June 26, 2007 at 04:36 PM
It's so cute! I think it works with the variegated yarn, too. Not at all busy or weird! ;)
Posted by: Nonnahs | June 26, 2007 at 05:58 PM
Oh! That's so cute. I really like it.
Posted by: Jen | June 26, 2007 at 05:58 PM